Lost and Found
by ChickenNugget98
Summary: While running away to help people in the war, Winry boards a pirate ship captained by none other than Edward Elric. What will happen to Winry? Will she be killed for trespassing or will she get help from Ed? EdxWinry, hints of RoyxRiza, AlxMai and LingxLan Fan
1. Have to Keep Moving

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or any of their characters (any of the others are mine)**

**A/N: I know this chapter is semi-short, but hopefully, the others will be longer. This chapter may be a little hard to get through (hopefully not) but please just deal with it. It'll get better I promise. So I want to apologize in advance if it's hard to read, but I suck at beginning stories. I'm MUCH better when I get going on it.**

**Ok, on with the story...**

* * *

Her feet hit the hard cold pavement, every step was excruciating but she had to make it in time, she couldn't stop not now, not while she was so close. The rain drops cruelly hit her face leaving small whelps, but she didn't care and blinked away the water.

At last, the blonde girl could see the shape of a ship in the distance blurred by the rain. _This is my chance. I have to take it. _All she can think about is finally being able to leave this place she so dearly called home. _I love it here and everyone too, but I just I know I can help in the war. I can give the people who have lost limbs another chance at life._

The young girl's grandmother surprisingly allowed the sixteen-year-old to go. She never would have believed it, but the older woman warmed up when Winry mentioned her parents dying by helping people._ I won't allow more innocent men and women to die just because they're different._

Winry's heart starts pounding even harder and faster as she got closer and closer to the approaching ship each second. She knew she would only have about half an hour to sneak on board unnoticed, but she was determined and had to manage it somehow.

It frightened her a little as she knew she wouldn't be able to see this place for a while. However, Winry knew she couldn't back out now. Not as long as the war was still taking place and thousands of people who did nothing wrong die just because they were different.

She was almost there. She was so close that she could almost smell it, when, out of nowhere, came a man almost as tall as she was, but not quite. Both fell back from the force of the collision. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" the short man shouted while they both stood from their fall. Winry replied quickly, "I'm sorry, but I have to go! Excuse me!" She began running towards the docks again.

* * *

_What the hell was that about? _The young man questioned to himself. He simply shrugged the strange girl off while watching her run away. He didn't know why, but that girl intrigued him. She seemed somewhat familiar. Again, he shrugged off the feeling and started to walk back to his ship. He was getting cold in this damn rain!

* * *

Winry was worried that she wasn't gonna make it to the ship in time due to the run-in with that pipsqueak back there. The thought made her push her feet harder to move faster.

She couldn't help but remember that boy's eyes. They were a remarkable shade of gold. Even though she had never seen such remarkable eyes before, they strangely felt familiar as though she had seen them before. Strange._  
_

She pushed that thought aside when sails and a look out came into view through the darkness covering the world.

Finally, she arrived. All that was left was to board a ship unnoticed and stay that way. That was the tricky part.

The girl neared the large ship, watching for anyone who could possibly catch her and bring an end to her plan.

She quickly took in the ship and subconsciously admired the beautiful craftsmanship. The bow, gorgeously crafted into a wonderful sea goddess, seemed to glow in the fog created by the rain. The one who can made such beauty must have had great patience and skill.

She passed the boat three times to make sure no one was around before she silently hauled herself up a side latter, delicately built in the side of the ship.

While scaling the side of the ship, she noticed the name "Red Souls" carved and painted in large bold lettering. Interesting name, but it wasn't Winry's style. Though, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter, so she would just have to deal with it.

She boarded the ship and quickly found the storage room below deck. She didn't know where else to hide, and she sure as heck wasn't gonna look in every room and risk the chance of getting caught by someone.

As she looked around the small room she couldn't help but notice how cramped the area was. How was she supposed to conceal herself in this tiny room for who knows how long? Something had to be done, she would need to rearrange some of the items during the night while the crew slept. But for now, she would have to make due with her ridiculously cramped she sat in the back corner, waiting for the ship to start sailing, she slowly felt herself drifting off into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, the warning bell went off and she could hear the crew above her running around. Winry's heart began to beat uncontrollably and her palms started to sweat. She had been found! What was she going to do? It's not as if she could sneak out the way she came in; they would be looking for her. Winry's mind started to race, looking around the room for any items that could help and stopped frozen when she heard a voice from above.

"We are ready to set sail, men. Be prepared."

The teenager's heart beat slowly became stable as Winry relaxed. She knew the ship would sail any minute now and she would be safe.

She leaned against the wall and decided it would be best to calm down and stay hidden until nightfall came once again. When everyone was asleep, she could find the kitchen and steal just enough so that she won't starve and no one would notice anything missing.

However, fate did not appear to be on her side. Just as the sun rose was glimpsing through the porthole, the girl's worst nightmares came true as someone opened the storage room door. A young teenage boy switched a light on, turning to search for an unknown item. The boy's head snapped around to a sound of a small groan in the back of the room.

His eyes widened and he froze as he stared at the waking girl in the corner of the room, not but ten feet away from him.

Winry slowly opened her eyes, bringing her hands up to rub the sleep away from them. When her vision cleared, she took in her surroundings, the events of the day before returning to her mind. She looked towards the front of the room where she expected a shut door to be. Instead, she saw a boy around her age standing there, staring straight to her.

Winry's breath caught in her throat. She had been discovered! She didn't know what to do. She tried to explain, but no words left her mouth.

The young boy neared her and squatted down to her level. "I'm sorry, but I have to follow orders," the faint whisper escaping the boy's lips.

Winry was confused until he gently, but firmly grabbed her arm and led her out of the room.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked as he pulled her through the semi-dark halls to a stairway leading to the top level of the ship, where if she had a chance, she could jump over the railing and swim back to shore.

When the two teenagers reached the top deck, Winry realized her plan of escape was futile. They were surrounded. Men and women of all ages watching and staring as they walked past towards the large doors that lead to the captain's office and quarters.

Panic overcame her. She became frightened by what he would do to her for boarding his ship without permission and as a stowaway too!

The boy taking her to his captain didn't look a day over fifteen. Isn't he too young to be a pirate? Winry mentally face-palmed. _What am I thinking? I'm only a year older than him, and I want to go to a war! What's the difference?_

The sound of the boy talking jerked her out of her thoughts, "We're here," he softly stated before he knocked on the door receiving an invite to enter.

Winry couldn't help but stare at the person on the other side of the door.

The person she believed would be large and frightening was no more than a mere boy that was way too short for his age.

Surprisingly, the two males in the room looked similar, and it wasn't only because the blonde hair the two possessed, but there was something in their faces that was connected somehow. She did notice, however, that the boy holding her arm had light brown eyes while the one in front of her strangely had golden eyes that seemed very familiar.

Suddenly, Winry's eyes widened, for she learned that the boy she ran into earlier had been the captain of this ship!

The captain's eyes had widened as well, though only for a second. They then turned slightly irritated as this girl mocked him by sticking her tongue at him and exclaimed, "How are _you _of all people captain of a ship? You would think the shortest person on here would be a chef or something, not the boss!"

The captain became very red as all the blood in his body fled to his face as he shot back, "You do realize this 'shorty' could easily throw you off this deck and feed you to the sharks if he wants!"

The girl yanked her arm out of the younger boy's grip and marched forward towards the captain to respond, in a hushed tone, but still very intense, "Would you really do that? You don't seem like the kind who would hurt someone for no reason."

Winry's remark didn't even faze him. He'd already known that fact, so it didn't bother him. He never did like killing much. The captain stood his ground as the woman in front of him threaten him, but so as not to lose what little pride he had left, the older of the two males in the room started to defend himself to this girl.

After becoming tired of this charade, the boy that had brought Winry to the room sighed while restraining his over heated captain from doing something he would regret later. He informed his superior, with a little more power in his voice, "I found her in the storage room and I figured you'd want to know, brother."

_Brother?! Did he just say BROTHER!? _Winry was exasperated as she learned the connection between the two boys. _How can this boy, that seems sweet as can be, be the brother of a pirate captain?_

"Good job, Al. You thought well."

The captain then sat back down in his chair and turned to face Winry.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. This here, is my younger brother and first mate, Alphonse Elric. I am Captain Edward Elric, though you may know me better as The Fullmetal Alchemist."

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**A/N: Chapter 2: Arm Your Battle Stations!**


	2. Arm Your Battle Stations

**Disclaimer: I do nmot own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of their characters (any of the others are mine)**

**A/N: I give much thanks to my amazing co-author, CrackerJack007, SHE IS AMAZING! She REALLY helped me out with this chapter! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!**

**OK, now, on with the story!**

* * *

_THE Fullmetal Alchemist is just a little kid? But how? It isn't possible! _Winry couldn't believe her ears. Was he serious?

The Fullmetal Alchemist is an internationally known pirate captain that uses alchemy to defeat his enemies. No one knew exactly who he was but Winry never would have guessed this teenager sitting just five feet away would be the Fullmetal Alchemist! And she sneaked onto _his_ ship.

_'why this ship?' I couldn't have snuck onto one of the others?'_

What's even more surprising is that if he really is who he claims he is, then that would mean he can use alchemy without a transmutation circle!

Winry couldn't help but just stand there like a deer in headlights. Her eyes threatening to leave her skull. She temporarily forgot how to speak.

Edward started to laugh at the girl in front of him.

"I guess it shocked her a little bit, don't you think Al?" The older of the brother asked, amused at the girl's antics.

Al, not paying attention to him, tried to clam the girl down. After realizing her eyes had glazed over, Al brought his hand over the girl's eyes trying to bring her out of her thoughts. After realizing his attempts were in vain, he reluctantly shook her out of her state. Winry shook her head clearing it of the thoughts racing through it.

"I-I'm sorry. Y-You just caught me off guard there," the teen apologized.

"What? You weren't expecting the Fullmetal Alchemist to be me? Don't worry a lot of people have the same reaction. But they do normally add a few extra words that I could _really_ live without," he said the last part in an irritated manor as he brought his hands down onto his desk as and dark aura seeped from his body.

Winry noticed this and couldn't help but silently giggle to herself knowing full and well what those extra words were, having used them once herself.

"Well, no. Whenever I thought about the 'great and powerful' Fullmetal Alchemist, I wasn't expecting someone shorter than me." She could't help it, it was just too funny to see him get worked up so much over just those few words, but she knew she would regret it later.

Edward Elric became very frustrated and shouted at the girl, standing up and leaning towards the girl to get his point across, "That is the _SECOND_time you have called me short! I won't stand for it another time! If you call me that again, you can say good-bye ship, hello, sharks! But, for now, you can stay here, but you have to work to stay."

"I'll do anything! Just tell me what to do and I'll do it just to stay aboard," Winry pleaded with the captain.

"Alright... Let's see..." Edward began pacing the room with Winry and Al watching him contently for his decision. "I got it! You get to be my personal servant! Lucky you," the captain had a somewhat happy look on his face.

"After the next few days you won't dare call me sh-sh-shor-t again." Ed could not believe he had actually said the word, geeze this woman already had him turning red with anger and he only just met her!

Winry didn't exactly care for this job she had been received, but at least she didn't have to scrub toilets. She slowly nodded her head as she accepted the job.

"Good. You start tomorrow. Al, show her to her room," Edward said slightly, pleased at the girl.

It's been about a week since she boarded "Red Souls" and she was surprised how fast time goes by on the open waters. When she was home, and completely consumed by her automail work, even then, time didn't go by as fast as it does now.

I spend most of my time with Edward, but I do get some jobs that cause me to leave him and that is when I finally get to talk to people and make friends. It's nice to be able to actually talk to people with Edward only talking when he's not doing something, which is _very_ rare. However, I did learn that Edward preferred to be called Ed and that his crew mainly consisted of men.

The only other female on board was a woman around 19 named Rose which is also my roommate.I took an immediate liking to her even though we have many differences and very few similarities, but I guess it's only because the fact that she was a female that made me attracted to her. I don't get to see her often since she works in the kitchen as the chef, but we talk considerably at night when we can't sleep.

Al has also been very kind to me. He informed me that Ed really had nothing against me. He just had a reputation to withhold. Al also told me that Ed only made me his personal servant because he didn't want any of the men taking advantage of me. I can take care of myself but on a ship with one girl and who knows how many men, the odds wouldn't be in my favor.

That night, Winry stayed out on the bow of the ship watching the stars, oh how she couldn't wait to get to the war and help others with _her_ very own automail. Just the thought of it brought big smiles to her face, she was going to follow in the foot steps of her parents in her own little way. She did miss Granny and thought of her often, wondering what she's up to or how she is doing. Footsteps behind her quickly brought Winry out of her thoughts and turned around fists up, ready to take on any man that had the gall to even try. But it was Ed.

"Oh, it's only you. Hey, Ed," Winry sighed grateful that it was only him, leaning on the rail. Ed smiled and yawned, "Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"Just thinking," Winry responded to her captain, not looking at him.

Ed looked worried, "You aren't thinking about leaving, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I actually really like it here. I just miss my Granny."

"Oh, but if you didn't want to leave, why did you?"

The teen girl looked at her captain surprised, "I never said I didn't want to leave! I just miss her, that's all"

Ed looked relieved, "Oh."

"I thought you were charting out maps with Al," Winry stated, looking back to the stars in front of the ship and two teenagers.

"I was, but I was getting cramps so Al took over."

Winry smiled at that information, "He really is something isn't he? You're lucky to have a brother like him" Edward joined her on the rail, looking at the stars, smiling as well, "Yeah, I am. I don't know how I would be able to get by without him sometimes. I don't know how he can deal with all that work, just leaning over and not getting any cramps. I can hardly stand an hour of it."

Winry laughed, making Ed's smile even bigger. He didn't know why, but this girl brought out a side of him even he didn't know existed. He hadn't noticed it before, but he found the girl's sky blue eyes gorgeous and her blonde hair glowing. He shook his head slightly, trying to rid himself of such thoughts. Thankfully the girl next to him didn't notice the boy's actions. "I know how you feel. When I was at home and working on my automail, I would get cramps _all _the time," Winry smiled, not looking at him.

Ed looked at the girl just to the right of him, shocked, "You work on automail?"

Winry laughed at the boy's reaction, "Yes, I work on automail. Where did you think I got this figure? That I get it naturally? Huh! I _wish_ I was that fortunate."

Edward blushed slightly as he looked away from the girl he obviously found attractive. "R-Really? I-I haven't noticed..." he replied nervously.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the railing they were leaning on broke. Winry fell forward and Ed swiftly, and in an instant, caught her hand before the teen could go overboard into the black abyss below them.

"What the _hell Winry!? _What'd you break my ship for!?" the pirate captain exclaimed as he gently and easily pulled her up.

The girl looked exasperated as the alchemist clapped his hands and fixed the railing on his ship _'He's lucky I don't have my wrench with me'._"Excuse me!? That was _not_ me! Something hit the ship!" Ed stood up and started laughing, "Good joke, Winry, but the only thing that could have hit the ship and do that kind of damage would have been a cannon... and they aren't silent. They are _really_ loud when they're shot. Just face it... you broke my ship."

Winry was about to start yelling at him, but Alphonse burst out of the captain's quarters, "Brother! We're being attacked! A cannon ball hit the ship right under your feet!" As soon as the younger Elric finished the last part, many men were bursting through the doors leading below deck, furious, some confused as to what had just taken place. Edward turned around to see the shape of a ship coming straight towards them! The look on Edward's face turned from shock to sheer hatred as he realized what ship had attacked them.

"Damn it! Men! Arm your battle stations! We're under attack! Winry, come with me," the older brother ordered the men with a booming voice, saying the last part softly so as only Winry would be able to hear. Grabbing the girl's arm, Ed was pulling her towards his bed chambers. It was slightly messy, but he threw her on the bed and ordered her to stay there, "It's not safe out there right now. I'll come get you when it's all over," he slightly smiled as not to worry the girl further. Winry simply nodded, not being able to speak from the shock of both being under attack and that the captain had taken her to _his_ room instead of anywhere else. Ed turned to leave and sighed before walking out the door and shutting it quickly.

The ship that is called 'Humunculus' had pulled up next to the 'Red Souls' and immediately started firing cannons towards the ship next to them. Chunks of wood were flying through the air after the cannon balls did their damage to the ship leaving gaping holes where they hit. A few alchemists stood by drawing transmutation circles around the damaged areas and using their talent to quickly fix the hole before sprinting off to another one. Eventually though the alchemists would get behind, due to too many cannons being fired at once and one of the two ships would find itself at the bottom of the ocean. Members from both ships knew this little detail and so they readied themselves for battle before finding a way to board the opponent ship.

Envy, a crew member from 'Humunculus' was eager to get to the other ship, holding FullMetal. He heard story's of the captain and could not wait to get his hands on him, but the cannons were taking too long to run out and what fun would it be if they sank the other ship before a good fight even had the chance to be born. No, that won't happen. Envy brought a very nasty smirk to his face before disappearing below deck.

Ed down below counted out how many more cannons they had before the fight would have to be brought to the surface with swords, because when that happened all hell would break loose and it was imperative that he be ready.

_'5..6..7…damn it that doesn't give me much time, it will have to do though.'_  
_  
_  
As Ed turned around to go back up deck, he was met with a sword at his throat and crazy eyes that held entertainment within them.

"Hello _FullMetal"_  
_  
_  
"Who are you?" Ed demanded, not really caring what his name was, but how had he gotten on his ship so quickly.

"Envy" the man slowly said as if to draw out the name so Edward would never forget it. Suddenly Envy slashed at Ed with his sword, but he was too slow Ed saw it coming and was able to barley block the blow from making contact with his face. Ed knew this battle could not last long this wasn't even the captain, but just another regular member that could be disposed of. He focused all his energy on the battle at hand wanting to quickly end it.

"FullMetal is this your full potential or do I need to motivate you? Would a certain _blonde _girl do the trick?!" Envy laughed with malice this was the fun he had been looking for!

Ed's eyes glazed over in rage at Envy's words and started to fight back harder, giving and taking blows to the body. Ed swung his sword down at Envy's feet, Envy blocked the attack and countered with a strike to waist. It hit and Ed fell to his knees. He brought a hand up to his wound and hissed in pain as slight pressure was added.

_'I can fix this, it's only a minor wound. Still painful as hell though' _Ed brought his hands together and bolts of lightning appeared in the air and snaked around gash on Ed's side. That's when he heard Envy start laughing out loud.

"So you can do it? You don't need a transmutation circle! Oh I know what that means _Edward_."

"Shut up!" Ed retaliated. He was furious. He tested me to see if I could use alchemy without a circle!? He would lay at the bottom of the ocean for that one.

"Oh did I tell you Ed, when I got on this ship I made a hole at the bottom, this ship will sink before the day is over unless you can fix it in time. Oh I would say in a matter of an hour this ship will be on a crash course to the sea floor."

"Ahh!" Ed flung himself at Envy with all his force and felt his blade pierce flesh and Ed sighed finally he's quiet, but how wrong he was. Envy stood back up to his feet and smirked.  
"I always hear how FullMetal is a merciless killer, but now I see you have never killed a person in your life have you?"

Ed's eyes hit the floor. Envy's glazed over with amusement.

"I've killed hundreds" Envy whispered and was just about to swing his sword down at Ed again, but was cut short by his own captains' orders.

"Envy, don't be rude, he is mine"

Envy looked troubled as if he was having a hard time stopping his "fun" but he eventually gave in and bowed his head.

"Go have fun with someone else." The other captain ordered. Envy thought for a brief moment and is eyes lit up before scampering off for his new play mate.

The Fullmetal Alchemist glared at his opponent and lightly whispered with disgust,

"Wrath..."

The captain of the attacking ship grinned evilly and calmly walked up to Ed stopping just a few feet away. The two men withdrew their swords, one a cutlass and the other a rapier.

They left their pistols and daggers hidden in their clothes for extra protection.

"_En Guarde!" _Wrath said humorously, while Edward simply glared at the man in front of him. "You're sick Wrath," the blonde muttered just loud enough for his opponent to hear.

Wrath smiled slightly and lunged toward Edward, broadsword at the ready. The teen expertly jumped out of the sword's way and sliced his own cutlass at the man, just skimming his cheek. Ed smirked as he saw a trail of blood run down the other's cheek, but was slightly taken aback when a dim light appeared where the cut had been and the wound completely disappeared along with it!

_'So he can regenerate. This will take longer than I had hoped.' _Ed though mind still on the gaping on the bottom of his ship causing it fill with water and eventually sink, unless he got to it in time.

Edward charged at his opponent. Wrath was ready for it though; he caught the sword and held it against Edward's. The teen smirked, "I guess now I understand why you named your ship that. You guys have no imagination, do you?" Ed shook his head at the man, sarcastically. Wrath said nothing as he increased his power in his hold on his blade against Edward's cutlass. The intensity increased drastically as the two refused to give up the hold. The two stared into the other's eyes. Both full of hatred and the want to kill the other.  
The blonde expertly broke the hold and sliced the air while jumping over the man, trying to wound the humuculus in front of him. However, the older of the two swiftly ducked out of the sword's path. He wasn't going to fall for that trick again.

"Clever, aren't you. I mean, of course, for something that isn't human!" Ed teased the already infuriated being. Ed didn't know how, but for some reason, Wrath still remained calm and his focus never slipped once. '_Damn, I need him to get mad and reckless so this can end quicker, but he somehow hasn't faltered in emotion at all'_

Wrath smirked with pure evil almost as if he had heard what Ed was thinking. He put that behind him, he couldn't get distracted.

"FullMetal, I believe we will be parting now." Wrath said with almost respect, it through Ed off. What did he mean he was leav-

That's when he heard it, a scream that sliced through the air full of fear and pain.

"Winry..." the boy whispered. He had to finish this now, but when he turned back around to continue his battle his opponent was already gone. The boy silently thanked the gods as he raced off to find the hole that Envy had created.

_'I'm sorry Winry, but I have to do this first or everyone will die. I promise you I will find you.'_

* * *

Winry clutched the bed sheets in her hands waiting for the fight to be over. How could he make her wait here, when all she hears outside is the pain people are going through, she heard bodies hit the ground and the sound of swords clashing against sword: it put the poor girl on edge. Who was winning this battle and why did it have to happen when she was finally having a peaceful and private moment with her captain? Who was he fighting now and was he ok?

As all the thoughts filled her mind, she couldn't help but to grip the sheets tighter in her hands, hoping that it would bring some comfort to her racing mind and hurting heart.

_'Edward, Alphonse...please be ok'_

The door opened and Winry immediately stood to her feet praying that it was Ed coming through those doors to tell her it's all over and everything would be ok now, but as fate would have it, a homunculus member walked through the doors.

"Expecting FullMetal, where you? Well I am sad to say that he will not be joining us"

"What do you mean? Where is he?" Winry all but calmly asked the intruder

"It means that he will not be here to save you from me."

"And who are you exactly?"

The intruder smiled wickedly and slowly approached the blonde girl who was now backed up against the wall.

The man smiled viciously, "My name is Greed."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 3: Aftermath**


	3. Damsel in Distress

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or any of their characters (any of the others are mine)**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, I was having difficulties, but again, thanks to my dear co-writer whom I love dearly for helping me, I got through it. XD Oh, and next chapter will be Aftermath, sorry, but it's gonna be pretty long hopefully.**

**Ok, on with the story...**

* * *

"DAMN IT!" Edward screamed, absolutely furious.

He had found the hole and quickly repaired the damage taken to it, but once he had arrived back on the top deck to save Winry, a blur of black and blonde rushed past him and swiftly landed on the neighboring ship. He was taken aback for a second as he looked to see what had passed him. He grew even more frustrated and pissed off as he realized Winry was hanging on someone's shoulder, bound by ropes, her mouth covered by cloth. She was frightened.

Ed's eyes took on a look that even rabid beast would run away from as he noticed who the one carrying her was.

Ed thought back to the first time he had met the humunculus holding his servant, and probably only friend.

_"The name's Greed. I want everything this world can offer. Money, power, women." _the awful being had said with a voice of pure evil.

Ed found the nearest rope that was there specifically for boarding other ships in attacks. He made sure his grip was tight, stepped back, and sprinted to the edge of the ship, jumping before he reached the rail. He soared over the water below, and landed safely on the other ship, never stopping as he raced towards Greed.

"Greed, let the girl go," the human captain growled at the man with venom in his voice.

The humunculus grinned at the boy's reaction, "Well, well, I see I've found a weakness in you with this girl here. She is beautiful, but she's more of my type, don't you think?"

Ed growled, not knowing where this level of of hatred to this humunculus was coming from, he had never hated someone more than he hated the man in front of him now. _'It can't be because of Winry, can it? No, she was only a friend.' _He tried to convince himself, but he couldn't help but feel a longing for her to be safe with him by her side. _'Where did _that_ come from?!'_

He had to push his thoughts to the side as he saw Greed lay the tied up girl on the deck by his feet. She started to squirm and scream trough her gagged mouth, trying to tell him to run. Ed caught what the girl was begging him to do through the look on her eyes, but he couldn't just leave her here. She wasn't safe if he left.

The teenager lunged his sword towards his opponent, striking his neck, but not before his skin covering the man's neck turned a dark grey, becoming an ultimate jumped back to his original position looking at the new man in front of him.

"Like what you see FullMetal? This is my ultimate shield nothing can penetrate it." Greed's eyes gleamed at his statement.

Ed kept silent, putting a plan in place for his attack. There had to be a way to defeat this guy, if not he wouldn't be just a mere member of the ship. As Greed continued to gloat, Ed gave a quick glance in Winry's direction; he had to get her out of here. He entered his fighting stance once again and concentration glazed over his eyes. Greed caught this action.

"Well then come at me."

That was all Ed needed to bound at his opponent striking the soft spots first the shoulder and then the ribs, but his sword would just make small sparks and bounce off. Ed landed behind Greed and Greed gave a look of disappointment.

"Is that all you got, captain?"

Ed scrunched his eyebrows, this is ridiculous, first Envy's swiftness, then Wrath's regeneration, and now this? If he couldn't defeat him he had to at least distract him long enough for Winry to undo her restraints and get out of here. With that thought Ed brought his hands together making a storm of lightning appear under Greed's feet, breaking the wood and making the two men fall through.

The dust had clouded Ed's vision; he would have to be alert. A sound came from behind him as he turned around just in time to block Greed's blow. They were stuck in a duel off sword pushing against sword and Ed was slowly loosing strength due to his still injured side so he drug his sword along Greed's until finally it reached the end, where Ed immediately slashed his sword towards his opponents head. Greed quickly blocked and jumped back into the dust cloud laughing.

Ed scanned his surroundings desperately looking for a clue as to where Greed was hiding, finding none and becoming frustrated he clapped his hands together making the walls spike out all around the room. Ed's planned worked as Greed had jumped out from the shadows and ran up the steps back to the surface.

"Damn it!" Ed exclaimed as he ran after him.

Ed opened the door and the sun shined on his face as his eyes adjusted to the light he saw a pair of claws in his face. The young boy clenched his teeth together and once again used alchemy to make the wood from the door next to him to spike out at Greed. Greed dodged the attack giving Ed an opening to move out of Greed's clutches.

"You aren't so bad kid."

Ed furrowed his eyebrows refusing be distracted. Greed lunged at FullMetal bringing his claws down hard on the boy's sword until he heard a crack.

Ed's eyes grew wide. What was he going to do now? He couldn't beat him with his sword and alchemy combined; there was no chance for him to go bare knuckles. He had to come up with a plan, he let his mind race as Greed came at him again and again, but Ed was able to dodge the attacks.

Ed was backed up into a barrel of an unknown liquid, it wouldn't be much of an attack but it would at least give him a fraction of a second to clear his head for a plan. With that the lifted the heavy barrel and threw it straight into Greed, the barrel broke spilling the liquid.

'Gasoline' Ed realized, he took a quick look towards the sky and eyes lit up. That was it! He looked back toward Greed with a smirk on his face, this enraged Greed and his attacks came quicker and more forceful. Until Ed was finally backed up to the bow of the ship where Ed quickly jumped up onto a board, and Greed swung at the wood holding Ed's weight, the wood shattered but not before Ed had jumped up to another board. Ed kept bounding upwards in this fashion until he finally made it to the lookout post.

He only took one second to look down to Greed's position on deck and the sail in front of him before lunging toward the cloth. He used just a bit of alchemy to burn a hole into the fabric as he fell back to the surface of the ship with the cloth wrapped tightly around his wrists.

As he reached Greed he kicked out his feet into Greed's chest causing him to loose balance, but before he could hit the ground Ed had already wrapped the cloth around the man from head to toe. As the man struggled to get free of the small trap Ed ran back to the puddle of gasoline, clapping his hands together and falling to the floor. Immediately the ship caught fire, the wooden boards on the floor were already starting to give way.

Ed looked back up at Greed who was close to freeing himself, the fire wouldn't reach his opponent in time he would have to quick start it. Ed looked around for something to use, as he did not want to get too close to Greed risking him getting burned as well. His eyes landed on his broken sword and suddenly remembered that when he would strike the ultimate shield it would cause sparks. Ed's eyes lit up and he bounded for the weapon, bringing it up to his face he ran is hand across the broken blade, sparks of lightening shot out as his new blade was shaped.

Ed glanced back at Greed who was now poking his head out of the cloth just seconds away from ruining Ed's perfectly thought out plan. Not wanting to waste anymore precious time, Ed quickly disposed of the knife and lunged toward Greed, striking him across the chest. He saw the sparks; then the blaze.

At this moment, railings on the ship were breaking and crashing to the deck; wood bursting, blowing chunks of wood in all directions. The ship was going to sink.

_'Winry'_

Ed took off to the place where he left her; he slashed at the rope binding her ankles and wrists. He then took the cloth out of her mouth, but before anything could be said the fire on the ship had finally found the stash of gun powder and exploded.

Thankfully, they were near the edge of the ship when the entire thing blew. Ed could feel excruciating pain begin in the base of his right arm, creeping throughout his body. Time seemed to pass in slow-motion as the teenagers fell from the ship. He blacked out moments before the two plunged into the icy black ocean.

* * *

Winry felt the unconscious boy weighing her down deeper and deeper in the dark depths of the freezing cold water.

She had to save this boy the same way he had saved her. He used his body risked his life to protect her from her kidnapper. She kicked her legs trying desperately to get to the surface, but her efforts were in vain, Ed was weighing her down.

Winry could feel her body become numb from the cold and needles were starting to prick at her lungs, taking her breath away. Her arms went limp and her eyes became shallow. There was no hope this was the end. Winry felt Ed slip from her grip and with one last ounce of strength that the girl possessed she reached out and grabbed hold of her captain's coat and shoved her feet as hard as she could towards the surface. The sun on the water shined brighter, signaling that she had indeed pushed them further upwards, this gave the girl hope as she continued kicking until finally she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her torso and lifted her out of the black abyss.

Winry was placed on the deck and immediately she started to cough up the oceans salty water. Ed laid next to her, flat on his back, exposing the wound to his right arm for the first time to Winry. Her blue eyes widening in fear, she crawled his left side, so as not to cause him more pain as he was already in. She could feel the tears and exhaustion creep into her, threatening to overpower the poor girl. She held on as long as she could, until she finally let a single drop of water escape her eyes before allowing unconsciousness to take it's next victim. "Ed...ward..."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 4: Aftermath**


	4. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or any of their characters (any of the others are mine)**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I was trying to make it longer, but I decided just to make the second part into another chapter. I've been a little sick... so it's kinda hard to think with insane headaches, sorry. Please don't be mad for the wait!**

**By the way, Al has his body, so Ed never had to give up his right arm to put Al's soul in the suit of armor, but Ed is missing his left leg.**

**Ok, well on with the story!**

* * *

"Ed!" Winry screamed bolting straight up in her bed, causing two other crew members to be startled.

"Where is he?!"

"He is being treated by the physician."

"I need to see him!" Winry exclaimed. The two men nodded their heads and led the young girl to the physicians courtiers.

On the way, Winry gasped at all the damage that had been done to the ship, rafters had broken and fallen to the floor, railings where shattered. Some men lay under white cloth, giving the dead their privacy. All this had happened and for what? Ed?

When they finally reached the room that held Ed, Winry started to let her tears fall._ 'Why did he do that? Why didn't he save himself after I told him to?' _The young woman held her breath as she pushed open the door. Almost immediately, the physician was at Winry's side checking for anything out of the ordinary, once she was done checking, Winry looked up at the woman questioningly.

"I hear you are a good mechanic."

Winry nodded slowly, not sure what the old woman was getting at.

"Are you willing to spare a lot of hard work and effort for the man who saved your life?"

Winry nodded again.

"Well boys get this ship to town. FullMetal is getting some automail."

* * *

Edward woke around noon in a strange room, confused at why he was surrounded completely by white, that is, until all thoughts about his location left as pain in his right arm overtook him completely. He allowed no more than a groan to escape his lips, though he longed to scream in agony.

The feeling soon lowered and was merely an uncomfortable sting. He reluctantly turned his head in the direction of the sudden feeling in his arm to learn the reason behind the pain. He expected it to only be nothing more than a deep cut, but instead found nothing but bandages where his arm should be. Ed mentally face-palmed as the memories of last night's events ran through his mind. '_Of course! A chunk of wood launched itself in my arm, completely severing the nerves in the explosion. Damn it! I can't even save someone without getting hurt!'_

His golden eyes widened at the last bit of his thought, "Winry!"

Before he could move, however, Ed heard a familiar gasp coming from only a few feet in front of his bed. He turned to find Winry, wide-eyed and with a look of worry and complete sadness, tainting her already beautiful features. She slowly started to walk towards her captain after quietly closing the door, her eyes never leaving the being laying in the bed.

"Ed, a-are you ok?" the girl asked barely above a whisper.

The boy didn't answer her question and simply turned away, asking instead, "How long was I out?"

Winry gently helped the boy sit up and prop his head against the headboard before sitting at the end of his bed, "A few days. We docked here in Rush Valley so I could get parts for your automail and so you could get proper treatment for your arm."

"Thanks, but what's wrong with my leg?" Ed tilted his head in confusion.

"It got busted up pretty bad, so I decided to make you a new one, and I figured that you'd want a leg before an arm so you could walk around," the blue-eyed teen faced towards her captain and smiled.

Edward returned the girl's smile, but it faded shortly and he turned away. "Do you think you could make an arm for me?"

Winry quickly told told the saddened boy happily, "I've actually already been working on the blue prints for it. Both your leg and arm should be ready by the end of the week if I pull a few overnighters. I just need permission from you to get the base of the arm on. If it's ok with you of course."

"Why _wouldn't_ I not want an automail? Do you even have to _ask_?" the boy looked at Winry exasperated.

Winry giggled at the boy's reaction _'Wait, why am I giggling? I don't giggle. I _laugh_, but I don't _giggle_.' _She looked away, suddenly finding the door very interesting so as not to allow the boy to see her now crimson face. _'Why am I blushing? I've never blushed before. Why am I blushing now?'_

Luckily, Ed hadn't noticed the girl's strange reaction and instead became serious. "Winry, what happened after I passed out?" he looked straight into the girl's eyes, who turned around when she heard her name.

"There were many wounded, and three casualties," the girl turned down, not facing her captain.

"Oh," Ed couldn't help but feel somewhat sad that some of his crew were lost to them now.

"I'm sorry," Winry said after a few moments of silence, "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, then you probably could've defeated them sooner... I-I'm so sorry. It's my fault you lost your arm just like how it's my fault that your leg's completely destroyed!" silent tears were falling down her cheeks, with her hair covering her eyes.

Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. _'Does she really think it's all her fault?' _He slowly reached his hand out, taking her chin in his hand, bringing her face to look straight into his eyes, surprising both teens, "Don't. Don't think that. I's not your fault and it never will be. If you hadn't been taken, the battle could have been much longer and there could have been _many _more casualties than there already are. And even if I'm wrong, I never would have left you. I promise, Winry, I _will_ protect you. No matter what." The boy's golden eyes burning with seriousness looking straight into a sea of blue. He never faltered. He never even blushed or look away. He was completely serious, and determined. He would keep his promise, and no one will make him break that. He stared into those eyes, becoming lost, but never leaving his determined state.

_'Those eyes. They're so beautiful. They're so serious. It's like they're melting me from the inside out.' _The girl couldn't help but stare at his eyes for the briefest moment, until what he had said finally reached her. Winry's eyes widened slightly as his last few sentences repeated in her mind_"I promise, Winry, I will protect you. No matter what..."_

They sat there, on his bed, staring into each other's eyes, never drifting away, for what seemed like hours. Winry, finally breaking the silence by smiling and suddenly leaped into his arms, hugging him around his waist; her face buried into his shirt. "Thank you," she whispered into his chest, both slightly red. He returned the hug after a moment, smiling and burying his face into her hair, subconsciously enjoying the feel and smell of her soft blonde hair on his cheeks and nose.

She could hear his heart slightly quicken as she leaned more into him, causing her to smile softly. Feeling her own heart flutter, she wondered,_'Why do I feel this way every time I'm near him. We could be having one of our arguments, and yet, it's still there. I'm so confused.'_

Winry pushed those thoughts to the side as she faintly enjoyed being in his arms, and not because she's in danger.

Neither one wanted to leave and were slightly disappointed as they both pulled away, not wanting to risk the chance of anyone seeing them and suspect things.

"So, uhh... where have you been working? I-I mean...o-on my automail?" the boy stuttered, still a light shade of crimson from what had just taken place.

"Oh, well... I had to constantly measure your arm and leg, and it was too much of a hassle to go back and forth between here and an actual automail shop, so I work in the room that's connected to this one. That way, you can have your privacy and I don't have to go very far to make sure everything'll fit right," the girl pointed across the room to a door Ed hadn't noticed before.

"Can I see the blueprints? I mean, if I am gonna have to live with it, I want to know about it somewhat," Ed asked.

Winry instantly brightened and rush out of the room to the adjacent one, only to come flying right back in, her hair flapping in the rush, holding a large rolled up piece of paper. She rushed over and quickly sat right next to Ed on the bed, explaining every about the limbs she possibly could. Ed saw the bright smile on her lips as he watched her done on about how each little part of the automail worked and how even one screw could mess the whole thing up.

He tried listening to what the girl was saying, but after a few moments, he had swirls in his eyes, interrupting her, "Winry! English!"

She looked at him confused and when she understood that he had _no _idea what she was saying, she made it easier on him, "It's gonna be cold and heat resistant, but it won't be too heavy. You'll also be able to transmute it if you ever need to." She paused and was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Trevor, one of the higher ranks, running into the room, "Captain!" The young man noticed Winry on his captain's bed, and became wide-eyed and slightly embarrassed for probably interrupting a private moment between the two blondes, "I-I'm sorry, sir... I didn't realize you had company... I-I'll come back later." He began to leave the confused blondes, when a _very _red Winry jumped out of the bed that contained a crimson Edward. "G-Go ahead, I-I was just about to go work on his automail, anyway," with that, she left, leaving a still blushing Ed with his subordinate.

"What do you want?" Ed asked, somewhat irritated at the man who ruined his moment of happiness with Winry.

"Captain, I'm sorry to bring this bad piece of information, but the crew has decided that we should tell you..." the man drifted off, apparently not wanting to tell the teenager.

"Tell me what?" the blonde asked, suspicious about what the crew wanted to tell him.

Trevor let out a deep breath and closed his eyes scared of what his reaction would be, "Al's missing... No one's seen him since the attack. I'm afraid he's gone missing. He was fighting Envy when their ship blew and all their crew members on our ship left. I'm also afraid that he was on their ship when the battle ended. No one's seen him since."

Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. His eyes were wide, full of fear. He seemed to forget how to breath.

"I see you need some time alone to let this sink in. As soon as you can get used to the new automail, we are ready to go," the man turned and left the room, closing the door slowly.

Winry could hear the door shut; she heard what Trevor had said, and she knew Ed wouldn't be able to take the news well. He had been through everything with his younger brother, and knew he wouldn't be his normal self without him.

After a few minutes, she still heard nothing. She took a deep breath and walked into the boy's room. Winry found him sitting on the edge of his bed facing the opposite wall. She felt a strange urge to run up to the captain and hug the poor boy to no end, but fought it and pushed it away. She slowly walked next to him and sat down to help comfort him. She had no idea how, but she had to try.

She turned to look at him to understand his feelings, but couldn't seeing as his bangs covering his eyes due to him facing the ground. She wanted to say something, but instead, closed her mouth, not wanting to make him even more depressed.

After a long moment, Ed couldn't stand the silence, "I can't believe he's gone. We've been through everything together. Al's in all my memories. I can't think of a single moment where he wasn't with me."

Winry looked at the older blonde, seeing his eyes downcast to hide any emotions threatening to appear. Her own eyes starting to form their own droplets of water, falling at the corners of the blue orbs. She couldn't stand to see her friend so vulnerable like this. Wait, did she just call him her friend? _'Well, I guess we are friends. I mean, he saved me from Greed when he could have just left me to die. I wonder if he calls _me_ his friend. No, I can't think that right now. I can ask him later; right now, he needs someone to help him through this, and I'm gonna be that person.'_

"He meant a lot to everyone. He was one of my best friends on board. Trevor never said he was killed, it isn't proven that he's lost forever. All we have to do is keep our hopes up and look for him. I'm sure he's alive out there, somewhere; I can feel it," the girl smiled hoping that would lift Ed's spirit.

With his bangs still covering the upper half of his face, Winry saw a single tear fall from under the blonde hair and onto his lap. Winry, surprising both of them, leaned against the Ed's shoulder, trying to comfort her captain.

"Thank you," was all Ed could manage to leave his lips before softly breaking down, leaning his head on Winry's, who was still on his shoulder. Even with her right there, she had to strain her ears to hear the whispered words.

The two stayed in that position long enough for Winry to fall asleep against him. Edward, not knowing what to do, didn't dare wake the beauty in his arms. Instead, he silently and carefully leaned against the headboard for more comfort. Ed laid his head on hers and wrapped his left arm around the girl, trying to give her some warmth as she slept. It wasn't long before Ed was taken by exhaustion as well, falling asleep with Winry snuggling for more warmth.

* * *

**A/N: MAJOR FLUFF! You better have loved it... -_-**

**Chapter 5: Automail**


	5. Automail

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of their characters (any of the others are mine)**

**A/N: THIS IS THE FULL CHAPTER! I HAVE COMPLETED IT!**

**Ok... on with the story...**

* * *

**3 Days Later**

"It's about damn time!" a very annoyed Edward exclaimed as Winry came walking in his room with a new automail leg.

"You better be glad it's here so soon! I spent two all-nighters making this for you!" the girl shot back.

"At least you're not sleeping with me," the bedridden boy muttered under his breath. However, Winry heard the comment and immediately started to blush wildly when the memory flashed through her mind.

_Winry woke next to a very warm object and cuddled closer to it, not wanting to lose the heat that seemed to seep off of it. She was not expecting the object to move, however. Winry snapped her eyes open and found that the thing she was cuddling with was none other than Edward Elric. The girl gasped and leaped from the bed, causing Ed to jump awake, sitting straight up and alert, "What happened!? What's wrong!?" He quickly searched the room and became confused when nothing seemed out of the ordinary._

_Winry, wide-eyed and red, stared at Ed, "W-Why was I s-s-sl-sleeping with you? I-I mean in the same bed!" she barely managed to choke out in her frantic and embarrassed state._

_A now furiously blushing Edward began to try to defend himself, "W-Well, you fell asleep and I couldn't exactly carry you to bed, and I'll be damned if I let anyone else take you to your room, so... I... I just.. let you sleep, and I-I guess I fell asleep too..."_

Winry pushed the thought out of her mind while her cheeks became a light pink again, "I never _wanted _to, it just kinda happened, and it'll never happen again!" the girl said defiantly.

"Good! Let's just get this over with."

Winry smirked, "Just don't cry, ok?"

"Me? Cry? Ha! Please, in your dreams."

The young mechanic grinned while walking closer to the boy, "You never know. I've seen grown men cry 'cause of the pain."

"You forget. I've dealt with it before. Hurts like hell, but I know the pain... I deserve the pain," Ed drifted off on the last sentence, speaking to himself other than Winry.

Winry heard it, but decided it would be a topic for another time, "Are you ready?" she decided to ask instead.

Ed shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

She sighed, preparing herself for whatever might occur in the next few minutes, as she slowly walked towards Edward, bringing her tools with her.

"You did change into shorts before I came, right?" she asked, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

He easily lifted his upper half out of the many pillows supporting him and kicked his legs around the bed, sitting on its edge. "Yeah," he simply stated.

"Ok, just try to be still," Winry told Ed, not wanting him to be in more pain than he needed to be in.

He nodded and Winry placed a stool in front of him the same height of the bed to connect the nerves. She had already finished everything that needed to be done, all I had to do was make sure it was in the right angle and height. Winry'd boiled it in hot water to disinfect during the night, so she knew it was clean, and all she had to do was connect the nerves, right?

Wrong.

She found it was hard to concentrate with Ed watching her every move. She didn't let that keep her from doing the task at hand, though. After a minute of him staring at her and her getting very frustrated at him, she looked up at him and aimed her wrench for his skull when she saw the distant look in his eyes that told her he was not looking at _her_ so to speak but was rather deep in thought about something.

She sighed, knowing he was worried about his brother and wanted so badly to get him back. They had been so close, she thought that nothing could tear them apart, but alas, she was proven wrong.

She tried bringing Ed out of the state he was in by nudging him on the shoulder and the leg. He didn't seem to notice the girl's futile attempts to bring him out of his trance.

"Edward," she pleaded with him, and when she realized there was only one hope to wake him, she gulped, whispering, "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."

Winry took a deep breath and connected the nerves, bringing out a half-yelp and half-grunt from the blonde boy. "What the_ hell, _Winry?! Are you _trying _to kill me?!"

"Well, you were too busy in dreamland to tell you, so I had no choice but to just go ahead. By the way, how is it you don't scream or anything when the nerves are connected? Even the strongest of men I know at least yell," she asked, intrigued about the boy's reaction to her connecting the wires.

"It's not that surprising I don't scream like a little girl like other men do, I am stronger than most of them out there. And, to answer your other question, I was just thinking," his voice lowered almost to a whisper at the last part.

She leaned closer, trying to look straight in his eyes, but failing when he turned away, "We all miss him. You're not alone; he was close to me, too, even if I only knew him for a week and a half. I'm going to help you find him. We can do this; all you have to do is just trust me, and we_ will _find him and get him back safely, no matter what, I promise." She focused her gaze on nothing but his beautiful golden eyes. They were so full of pain and sorrow that she had to restrain from crying herself. Winry took in a deep breath before continuing, "Please don't cry, Ed. I'm here and I swear I will help you in both getting through this and bringing him home."

She pulled him into her arms while he softly shook, hiding his face into the crook of his neck. He slowly brought his hand around her waist and held onto her like she was his only lifeline.

After a few minutes of holding on to each other while the boy cried and Winry tried to remain calm for him, the shakes settled and the tears slowed their decent. However, neither one let go, for they were scared that if they released, the tears would return.

They stayed in that position for a few more minutes when Winry finally, and somewhat reluctantly, pulled away, "I should probably go back to work on your arm, I suggest you rest a little. Your arm should be done tomorrow, so just wait until then and we can go back to the ship while you recover and to find Al, OK?"

He said nothing but simply nodded his understanding.

"Here. Let me put your arm in a sling and I'll let you rest." She brought out a long white piece of cloth from one of her many pockets in her worn-out light tan overalls and wrapped it under his armand gently reached around him to tie it at the back of his neck.

She gave Ed a gentle smile before turning to leave the room, but a hand catching her arm made her pause and look back around to see Ed watching her with a certain fire in his eyes. "You even hint one word of this to _anyone_ at any time, you _will_ be fish food, got it?"

Winry's eyes widened slightly and she nervously laughed while she agreed to his statement and promise that it wouldn't leave her mouth, and quickly left the room.

His gaze never left the door from which she escaped through.

He attempted to do what the girl instructed, but his thoughts turned to the girl with the long flowing blonde hair, gracefully pulled back into a high ponytail except for two pieces falling over her ears. He admired her beauty; the perfect curves of her figure, her perfectly toned arms that were so strong when she held him, her smile that never failed to leave his stomach doing backflips, but his favorite feature of this beautiful girl had to be her eyes. Her sky blue eyes that always looked at him with happiness and hope, instead of the fear and sadness he was used to.

The ones who didn't know him always feared him because of the stories they had heard, but the ones who did know him and his and Al's story always showed them pity and sorrow, but he hated it. He never wanted anyone's sympathy for the mistakes _he_ made.

Instead of kindness, he expected fear to come from Winry's eyes, but none ever showed. He never once saw fear in her eyes directed towards him, except when they first met, and for some reason that was beyond him, it hurt to see fear in the girl's eyes. He vowed he never wanted to see that fear again.

Slowly, he fell into a deep sleep, dreaming about the girl with the long blonde hair.

* * *

After a few days, Edward was thankful Winry allowed him to walk around after a long argument ending with a wrench painfully launched in his skull. He winced at the memory of that long conversation.

_"You are NOT going to go out walking by yourself!" Winry practically screamed to Edward._

_The older blonde cringed from the level of volume and pitch coming from the girl._

_He quickly recovered and shouted from his spot on the edge of the bed, "You can't boss me around!"_

_"I can and I will!" she leaned forward, giving more emphasis on her statement._

_Ed leaned forward as well, "I'm the captain, and you're just my servant, so I out rank you, meaning you can't!"_

_"Maybe so, but when it comes to automail, I know more than you and I know that if you try walking by yourself, you're just gonna hurt yourself! You need to think about these things, alchemy geek!"_

_"Automail freak!"_

_"Jerk!"_

_"Tomboy!"_

_"Pipsqueak!"_

_"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SHORT?!"_

_By now, the two were inches away from each other, noses almost touching. Both were near the point of growling when Winry suddenly pulled out a wrench, seemingly out of nowhere, and slammed it down on his head._

_The boy coward in fear, holding his now bleeding head. "Ow! Ow! Ow! What the hell, Winry?!"_

_Said girl sighed and simply said before turning and leaving to her makeshift workshop, "Go ahead and take the stupid walk and hurt yourself. See if I care."_

Rubbing his still sore head, Ed sighed, realizing that the pain would stay there for a while longer.

After a moment, his mind transferred to his now metal right shoulder. They had done the surgery to attach the port the day before, and it hurt like hell. Winry told him that it was best to attach the limb after about a day, so she had to finish the arm soon.

Ed was glad to be able to get his arm back; it was a pain to try to do anything other than walk.

While his mind was still on his arm, he accidentally ran into the blue-eyed beauty. "Sorry," both apologized before Winry immediately started dragging him by his remaining hand towards the room again. "Come on, I just finished your arm. I was wanting to connect it as soon as possible, if that's ok with you?" she finished, turning to face a red Edward.

"Uh... Yeah... Sure..." Edward agreed, crimson. _'Why am I always so jumpy around her? I've been around hundreds of girls before and I never acted like this! Maybe it's just because she's my friend. Yeah, that must be it. That _has _to be it. But friends don't feel this way towards other friends! Ugh! This is stupid! Why am I acting like this?'_

Winry smiled brighter while continuing to pull him into the room. Unknown to her, a pair of moderately dark golden eyes stared at the back of her head.

* * *

Edward sat there, shirtless, on his bed, watching a focused Winry work on his automail. His internal war with himself had been plaguing him since Winry had told him his arm was ready. He watched the concentrating girl absentmindedly, thinking of how he had lost his arm saving her and how he would do it a thousand times more if it kept her alive, but he had no idea why. He had never even looked twice towards a girl and now he was obsessing over this one. He didn't know what, but something was keeping her on his mind and pulling him to her, and it was really starting to irritate him.

Winry was just about to tell him she was ready to connect the nerves when she noticed his beautiful golden eyes watching her every move.

She blushed lightly before stuttering, "Umm... A-Are you ready?"

He snapped out of his dream state and turned away, blushing heavily, steeling himself for the upcoming pain, and nodded.

Winry turned back to the automail, readying herself to connect to nerves, and began counting down, "Three..."

Ed took a deep breath

"Two..."

He gritted his teeth.

"One..."

Suddenly, excruciating pain rippled through his body.

A muffled groan escaped his lips, his whole body stiffened, and after a moment it dulled, leaving a ghostly pain of the agony.

"Damn, I hate that. It's always the worst part," Ed complained, voice lined with pain.

Winry helped him lay back down on the bed. careful not to cause him more pain in his right side.

"Ok, sense it's your first time having an automail arm, don't use it for a while. Keep pressure off it for at least a month, or until it heals. Then you can start therapy on it," Winry informed him, going through the process that has long-since been burned in her head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but how long until I have complete control over my arm?" Ed asked.

"The minimum time is two years," she simply stated, half paying attention.

_"TWO YEARS?!" _he bolt upright, grunting from the pain shooting through his body from the sudden movement.

Winry jumped at his volume, trying to push him back down on the bed. However, he refused, so she then switched to propping him up against pillows, allowing him to stay comfortable, and also be able to look at her. "Yes, two years. You have to give your body time to get used to the new arm," she soothed him.

Edward, however, was not satisfied with her reasoning. "I'll do it in half a year," he stated determinedly.

Winry deadpanned, "You've go to be kidding. You're not serious, right?"

The alchemist's determined eyes never left his expression as he stared into blue irises.

Winry instantly began laughing, startling the other teen.

"What's so damn funny?!" Ed yelled.

"You," she replied simply, "You're insane if you think you can be in complete control in half a year!"

"I have to!"

"Look I know you're worried about Al. We all are, but you'll seriously hurt yourself if you do that," she tried to reason with him.

"I don't care! I'll kill myself before I let Al get hurt!"

"Why are you doing this?" tears began to form in her eyes.

"I'm keeping a promise," he stared straight into her eyes, starting to feel bad about making her cry.

"To who?" she choked out, trying no to allow the water to fall.

Ed's head dropped, covering his beautiful eyes with his golden bangs. His voice was so small so that Winry had to strain to hear, but what she did hear, she instantly felt pain for the boy on the bed.

"My mom."

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**A/N: Please forgive me for the wait, I've been busy. I'm going to take a break for a while, I have too many extra-curricular things to do. I'm sorry... :(**

**Chapter 6: Back Stories**


	6. Back Stories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or any of their characters (any of the others are mine)**

**A/N: ****I've also been reediting my old chapters because I've been reading other stories to help out with my writer's block, and I realized the others don't suck, but they aren't written to the best of my abilities. I also realized Ed is kind of OC... so it might be a while to update and post chapter 7 (which I am still writing, don't worry)**

**Now on with the story...**

* * *

"My mom"

Those whispered words instantly silenced the room. Suddenly, a warmth engulfed Ed that he hadn't noticed he needed. His eyes snapped open to see a light blonde head resting against his chest and small arms wrapped around his waist.

Almost instantaneously, his cheeks and neck turned a dark crimson color at the sudden closeness to the beautiful girl that had been plaguing his mind since he met her.

"W-Winry?" he asked timidly.

After a few minutes, Winry pulled back, looking him straight in the eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine. I should be asking you that," he responded, very confused.

"Ed, I can tell you're hurting about something. I know we haven't known each other long, but I can tell."

He was taken aback by her words, but he quickly recovered by telling her she was crazy for thinking that something would be bothering him, though she still wasn't convinced.

"Alright," he said after a moment of hesitation, "It's a long story, so I'll spare you with the details, okay?"

Winry nodded, indicating for him to continue.

Ed took a deep breath and began, "It was a long time ago, way before Al and I became pirates. We lived in a really small town in southeast Amestris. We lived with our mom. She was the sweetest woman you would ever meet, and everyone who knew her loved her. But she got sick, and we had no way of helping her. Al and I... we were going to try the impossible. We were going to try to bring her back with human transmutation."

A gasp sounded from Winry after his last sentence, but no other sound escaped her lips as she allowed Ed to continue his story.

"We were determined, so we even found a teacher to teach us stronger alchemy, and after a year, we returned to our home town. We had everything ready. All we had to do was perform the alchemy, but Al backed out. He was scared, and I couldn't blame him. I was scared too." He paused for a while before continuing, holding back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, "So I told him he didn't have to do it, but he couldn't leave. Whatever he did, he couldn't leave me. As soon as I performed the transmutation, I was transported somewhere. I can't describe it, but I could see the truth. Then, I was in this weird place. I couldn't tell how big it was, but it looked like it went on forever. Behind me, there was this massive gate. Then, in front of me, there was this strange... being. That's the only way you could describe it. He acted just like a person, but he was completely white, and only had a mouth, there were no other features on him. He called himself truth. Not long after, I left, but I felt this searing pain in my left leg, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was in our basement again, and when I looked at Al, he was crying, and staring at my left leg. I was confused for a second, but then the pain came back. I looked at my leg to see what was wrong, but what I saw wasn't my leg. It wasn't even close. What I saw was a bloody, mangled stump. I was terrified, and dizzy, but I had to see if it worked, but when I looked up to where my mom should have been, I could only see a monster. I couldn't believe it. I had failed! I lost my leg for nothing! I passed out after that and the next thing I knew, I was in a bed at one of my old friend's house, I can't remember their names, though. They were mechanics and built an automail leg for me, but they wanted to make sure I wanted it before they attached it. I agreed, and a few months later, me and Al agreed that we wanted to leave and never go back, so we left to the coast, transmuted 'Red Souls' and set sail. I finished my physical therapy on the ship. Along the way, we got some crew members and here we are now, infamous captain and crew."

During his little speech, he had forgotten Winry was there and listening intently to every word that escaped his lips. Winry had tears slowly running down her cheeks. Edward inwardly cringed. He hated it when the beautiful girl cried, especially for him. A few minutes of silence had passed, she asked with a weak voice, "Where was your father during all of this? Doesn't he know about what happened?"

Edward snorted and then quite literally growled his response, "Who knows, who cares? Damn bastard left us a few years before mom died, and didn't even go to her funeral. Al never really met the man, so he's always telling me to give him a chance, but does he really deserve one? I mean, the bastard abandoned his family! I haven't seen him in over ten years."

Winry seemed to cry even more as she lunged at him, hugging him unexpectedly. Edwards face seemed to grow red for a moment before fading back to normal. He gently wrapped his left arm around the blonde girl, pulling her closer as she cried in his chest.

"Please don't cry, Winry," he whispered into her hair, lightly rubbing her back, "It doesn't fit you."

After a minute, she calmed down and pulled out of his grasp, connecting blue and gold irises.

"What about you?" he suddenly asked.

Confused, she cocked her head to the side, "What do you mean 'What about me'?"

"What's your story? Why did you leave your home?"

"Oh... Well I guess my story goes back quite a while, so I'll try to keep it pretty short," she began, "Like you, I lost both my parents, but not in the same way. You see, they were both doctors in the Ishballan War, and they helped anyone they could, including the Ishballans, but they were killed... I was around seven when they left, and a few months later, they died. I was taken in by my grandmother, who was living with us at the time. She was an automail engineer; the best in the town. She was amazing, and I wanted to help people like everyone else in my family, so I asked her to teach me. I learned everything I know from her. Up until recently, I thought my life was perfect, but then I woke up and realized I wanted more. I wanted to help everyone, so I decided to leave to Ishbal and give those who lost limbs another chance at life. I tried sneaking out, but Granny caught me. She knew exactly what I was planning, and I expected her to shoot me down and tell me I couldn't go. But I wasn't expecting her to smile and tell me she understood and to go. She said I'm just like my parents and let me go. I had to walk to the coast, and it took a few days to get there. When I did get there, I knew there was a ship and figured it would be the best chance I would get to get to Ishbal, so I took it. I snuck on... and... I guess you know the rest.."

During her story, she lowered her head, she hadn't even noticed the new tears running down her face, or the fact that Edward had taken hold of her hand. Without breaking their contact, not wanting the moment to end, she raised her eyes and looked straight into Edward's own personal sea of gold.

He had a slight smile on his face and was about to say something when the door opened and Trevor walked in, completely missing that he just ruined a moment that the two were sharing, or that the two occupants were now beet red and one was lying in a bloody heap on the bed, one standing next to it holding a reddened wrench, both seeing how much they had let their guard down around the other. They had just met a few weeks ago, for crying out loud! The only person Ed _ever_ let see his soft side was Al, and even then, it was still rare.

"Ehh... Captain...?" Trevor asked the nearly unconscious heap before it jumped up and started yelling at Winry.

"What the hell was that, Winry?!"

The girl instantly defended herself, "That's for thinking you can heal and get complete control over your arm in six months! That's impossible!"

"I thought we finished this conversation already! And apparently, you've never met _me_, automail freak!"

"No _we _didn't! You did, you alchemy geek!"

_"Machine junkie!" _

"SHORTY!"

"WHO YOU CALLING A PINT-SIZED MIDGET WHO'S SO SMALL THEY CAN RIDE AN ANT?!"

The two gradually went closer with every sentence, and they were now only an inch away.

Winry straightened and backed away from him, all the while giving him confused look, "...I never said any of that..."

"... But you were thinking it..."

Trevor finally spoke up, breaking up the conversation, "Uhh... Captain?"

Said person turned his head and growled evilly toward the one addressing him, "What?"

Trevor coward in fear at the look his captain was giving him, "W-We're ready to s-set sail whenever y-you are, C-Captain."

"Good. Get everyone on the ship. We'll be there in a little bit," Trevor let out a breath of relief and left, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Ed smiled to himself, "Finally. It's about time we're getting out of this hellhole. Beautiful sea, here I come."

Winry watched the captain, "We're setting sail? Already? But what about your arm?"

Edward looked at her curiously before smiling, "Yeah. I need to find Al, and I can't let such a small thing like not having an arm keep me from doing it, now can I?"

Winry laughed slightly at his reasoning, "I guess I can't argue about that," her voice suddenly went very dark and threatening, "but you better not mess with your automail too much. I spent too much time and energy for you to either mess it up or end up hurting yourself. Got it?"

Edward gulped, nodding quickly, before regaining his composure and turning his back on her, walking out the door, "Alright, alright. Now quit nagging me and get your stuff so we can go."

He left her standing in the room, watching his back walk through the door. She smiled and quickly packing her tools and following him down the hall to the ship.

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**A/N:****Next chapter: Therapy Begins**


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